Greg O’Keeffe has claimed that Vitalii Mykolenko is not guaranteed to play for Everton this weekend.

Everton failed to pick up a positive result in their battle against the drop last weekend, so their home game against an in-form Brentford side has taken on more importance.

The Toffees will know that this weekend’s clash will be one of the toughest of the season given the contrasting forms of the two teams, but Sean Dyche must make Goodison Park an intimidating place to play after their last home defeat.

Dyche will need to ensure he gets his team selection is spot on, as Thomas Frank has not done much wrong of late, as his Bees side are unbeaten in 12 Premier League games, so some changes could well be in the offing for the Toffees this weekend.

Alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin, O’Keeffe has insisted on the All Together Now podcast that Mykolenko is touch-and-go as to whether or not he will start for the Toffees against Brentford.

He said: “Really, really tough games against sides that we’ve got no dice on recently at all. Brentford not exactly much easier, but it’s at Goodison, like you said at the top of this podcast, it’s in front of the Goodison faithful. We all know what’s at stake, and by hook or by crook, by 1-0, by a set piece, we need the points here.

“Speaking about set pieces, there might be a few tweaks as well. I think it’s touch-and-go with Vitalii Mykolenko, isn’t it?”

No matter if the likes of Mykolenko and Calvert-Lewin miss out, Dyche can’t be feeling sorry for himself as they simply must win this weekend, or they could easily slip into the bottom three.

If Everton were to beat Brentford this weekend, taking four points from their previous two games will be seen as a minor success for Dyche, and looking at their upcoming fixtures, it could be well-needed.

After playing Brentford, Everton face successive matches against Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, so those three games will be tough and could easily yield zero points, so taking the maximum from this weekend is a must, no matter how difficult it may be.

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